Poor Middlesbrough back to drawing board after costly setback to Swansea City

The Teessiders’ first game back since the coronavirus-enforced suspension of 2019/20 ended in a 3-0 reverse, a result which leaves them 21st in the Championship standings, outside the relegation zone on goal-difference alone.

Saturday’s fixture was, like all sporting fixtures in the UK, played out in front of an empty house, though Woodgate refused to accept that the absence of home support at the Riverside had any bearing on his player’s woeful showing.

“You can’t blame that,” he said.

“Obviously, with your home fans in, it’s a lot better, but our performance was not good enough.

“I thought Swansea were very, very good. To be honest, we couldn’t get near them. We need to go back to the drawing board.”

Boro survived a couple of early scares before eventually falling behind on 18 minutes when Andre Ayew did well down the left wing to tee-up Liverpool loanee Rhian Brewster for a close-range finish at the near post.

Just three minutes later, it got twice as bad for the hosts when Aldo Kalulu crossed from the opposite side of the box and Brewster fired a first-time shot into the turf and past Dejan Stojanovic.

George Friend’s 33rd-minute trip on Conor Gallagher then saw the Swans awarded a spot-kick, which Ayew converted to end the game as a contest before half-time.

Middlesbrough: Stojanovic, Howson, Shotton (Roberts 46), Fry, Friend, McNair, Clayton (Spence 46), Nmecha (Fletcher 69), Wing, Coulson (Johnson 55), Gestede (Assombalonga 71). Unused substitutes: Pears, Tavernier, Morrison, Saville.

Swansea: Woodman, Roberts, Cabango, Wilmot, Bidwell, Fulton (Byers 74), Grimes, Kalulu (Garrick 53), Gallagher (Celina 81), Ayew (Dhanda 81), Brewster (Routledge 74). Unused substitutes: Mulder, Guehi, Naughton, Dyer.

Referee: Tony Harrington (Cleveland).

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